Gaza says 100 killed so far in Israeli air strikes

GAZA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinians were killed in an Israel airstrike in central Gaza Strip refugee camp on Friday, raising the death toll to 100, the medics and witnesses said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza said that two local workers were killed and three wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a trash cleaning vehicle in the refugee camp of al- Bureij.

Earlier on Friday morning, seven Palestinians were killed and more than 15 injured in the Israeli airstrikes on houses in central and southern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that the death toll now stands at 100, while a total of 680 were wounded since the Israel began airstrike campaign against targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

RAMALLAH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to work jointly to ensure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Wafa official news agency reported.

Wafa reported that Abbas and Kerry discussed recent developments in Gaza by phone, where violence between Israel and Palestinian militants has claimed the lives of around 80 Palestinians. Full story

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli lawmakers on Thursday that a cease-fire agreement with Hamas isn't on the agenda at the moment, the Ha' aretz daily reported.

The prime minister made the remarks as he briefed ministers during a meeting in the Knesset (Israel's parliament) concerning Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza Strip dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," as it entered its third day. Full story

GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Operation Protective Edge, launched on Tuesday, shows Israel's determination to get tough on Hamas just as Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and Pillar of Defence in 2012 did. However, the latest Israeli military move also indicates its either ignorance or unwillingness to accept the fact that the issue can only be solved politically.

Shortly after its disengagement from Gaza in 2005, Israel started its odyssey of preventing rocket fire from the Hamas- governed Gaza into southern Israel. It seems that military action becomes the top and the only weapon in Israeli arsenal against Hamas. Unfortunately, this weapon is blunt. Full story